In Nomine Patris

January 1, 2013 — maxwest

While coming up with the basic concepts for Von Herling, Vampire Hunter, I worked out various sketches (some of which I did share on here). But to convey to others what the final product would look like, I worked on some more detailed concept drawings with inks and paints. This first one was what I came up with.

“In Nomine Patris”, Ink and acrylic on paper, 7×10 inches

I wanted to show Von Herling in action, but also convey that he was not your contemporary vampire hunter who goes head to head with creatures of the night. He’s more of a guile hero who will wait until vampires are at their weakest and then strike by exploiting their weaknesses.

Diluted acrylic paint was used for the shades of gray while colored ink was used for the holy wafer. In vampire fiction, holy wafers (also called sacramental bread, communion wafers, communion host, or Eucharist) were used to prevent the deceased from rising as a vampire; they’d be put inside the mouth. Some media depict wafers placed on a vampire’s resting place to prevent said vampire from sleeping. Others (such as the 1992 Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola) show the host being painful to the touch for vampires.

As you see, Von Herling always keeps some wafers in his tool bag. They come in handy in the battle against the undead.

Incidentally, the Latin chanting you see in the image (a portion of which makes up the title) basically is the Trinitarian formula – “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.